There is still no estimate of the total cost of the damage caused by the spill, which officials describe as the worst-ever in the country and an “ecological catastrophe”. But a top government official warned the reservoir’s owners could face fines of up to 73 million euros (102 million dollars). … Read ahead
Source: telegraph.co.uk
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But to get a sense of where the Gulf has been and where it’s going, the Associated Press surveyed 75 scientists about the health of the Gulf of Mexico before the spill. On a 0-to-100 scale, the scientists graded its general health a 71 on average. That’s a respectable C, considering 100 would be considered pristine and untouched by civilization. “If having a strong system in place pre-spill makes a difference, and I think it might, then I think the system may bounce back sooner than expected,” said Brian Crother, a Southeastern Louisiana University wetlands biologist. But nothing about the Gulf is simple. Just as often as scientists use the word “resilient,” they use the word “stress.” “The Gulf of Mexico has been fairly resilient, but it’s been under stress,” Michael Carron, director of the … 
NEW ORLEANS – The only thing keeping millions more gallons of oil out of the Gulf of Mexico right now is a rush job: an experimental cap that has held for more than two weeks but was never meant to be permanent. As soon as this week, crews will … 
The Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge hopes to “find the most effective and environmentally-safe solutions for capturing oil from all spills at the spill site, thus limiting their impacts and protecting our oceans, shores, marshes, and, importantly, the health and well-being of the people and wildlife which live and thrive in these communities.” Wendy Schmidt is personally funding the Oil Cleanup challenge; Schmidt is the wife of Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and is broadly involved in philanthropic efforts, particularly energy development and conservation of natural resources. The challenge will run for a year, and aims to spur development and demonstration of quickly deployable, highly efficient means of recovering crude oil from the ocean surface. The competition will run in two phases; the first phrase runs through April 2011 and invites proposals, which will be evaluated by a panel of expert judges from academia and industry. The judges will select up to 10 teams to demonstrate their technology for cleaning up oil on the ocean surface in a head-to-head competition at the … 
Gov. Charlie Crist pushes a constitutional amendment banning offshore drilling, an effort defeated by Republicans. It’s not the only political battle ignited by the spill. …